Weed-extracting tool.



A. T. AUTER.

WEED EXTRAOTING TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3,1911.

Patented May 7, 1912.

the same, Fig. 3 is ABRAM r. AUTER, or

miV M-Q EQRQO- wEEn-Exrnac'rme'ioon I Specification of Letteisl a tent.

Application filed June 3 19.11. zSerial No. "631,1(18.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAM T. An rnm'a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in'the city and county of Denver and State ofColorado, have invented a new and useful Weed-Extracting Tool, of whichthe" following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved dandelion and weed extracting tool,and the objects of myinvention are: first, to provide a dandelionextractor that can be applied to grip and that will hold to the roots ofdandelions,an'd will extract their tops and roots quickly and at oneoperation; and second, to provide a dandelion and weed extractor thatwill extract dandelions and weeds bodily, tops and roots together, orthat is adapted'to permit acids or poisonous chemical'solutions'orpowder to be applied to their tops and roots. I attain these objects bythe mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved implement partly brokenaway for are arranged to come to n. central ahnement with the axis ofthe These jaws are clearer illustration, Fig. 2 is a top' view of abottom view, full size, I Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view throughthe lower end of the implement; the jaws being omitted; and Fig. 5' is-avertical sectional view through the upper end of the implement on theline 55 of Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates an outer casingtube. This casing tube forms the outside body or casing port-ion of mydandelion and weed extractor, and to the lower end of this tubular bodyportion I place two or three or more open ing and closing dandelion andweed gripping jaws 2, which are connected to the tube in the followingmannerf A disk 3 is secured. to the lower end of the tube, preferably bybeing tnreaded thereto. The peripheral edge of the disk is providedwith'the same number of lugs 4, as there are jaws, and.

these lugs are at equal distances apart, and

in the center of each of these lugs, a slot is formed and each jaw isprovided'with an'j off-set lug portion 5 at its inner'end, which ispivotally secured by a pin 7. 'Not less than two of these jaws can beused, but two" or three or more may be used if desired. l preferablyillustrate three of these dande lion and weed extracting jaws, however.

-18tliatisprovided' tionjthat projects into the semi-circular re fecesof the half of the body tube that fits leave asqiiare shoulder 19 at itsThese jaws comprise knife-blade-like members which are of sufiicientlength to reach' far enough down on the roots of dandelions and weeds togrip and remove them from the ground, and they are'provided with narrowedges that are provided withratchet teeth 8, that lean toward the end ofthe tube, and their sides slope toward the outer free ends of the jaws.These jaws are also pref erably arranged to taper on both sides fromtheir toothed edges to a dull knife edge along their back edges. Thesethree "jaws gether and'center tubular body portion of the extractor.

recessed slots 10, at their inner end portions,

in which a disk '11 fits loose-1y. This .:Peee eflatware-5..

each provided with narrow disk is secured in any suitable'manner to oneend of a tube 12, preferably by being riveted thereto; the tube12'extci1ds loosely througlfthe tube. 1' that forms the body of theextractor. This inner tubedsopen and entirelyunobstructedthrougliout'its; length, and l. term this tube the tube. Itis also adapted to convey chemical solutions to the roots of weeds 'ordandelions, and it extends of the body tube. One half of the diameter ofto near theopposite end the upper or handle portion of the body tube iscut away thelengthof for about a couple of inches of aw operating thebody tube as shown at 13,,and a handle lat is secured around the end ofthe remain,

inghalf portion of the body tube, by "any suitable means. The hubportion 15 of the handle, however, is made of a semi-circular formand'extends' in a' semi-circular form around the semi-circular terminalend of the tube, and is preferably secured to the tube by being rivetedthereto. This arrangement of the end of the. tube and its handle is madeI in order to leave the semi-circular curved recess 16 of the'remaininghalf of thebody'.

tube unobstructed so that chemical solutions can be readily pouredintotheadjacent end operating or chemical solution The ad acentendof-the awoperof the j aw tube;

atin and chemical solution tube. is left open, audit is also provided.With a handle with . end of the rod may tube and its handle are sorelatively positioned to this shoulder as to have a short reciprocativemovement against and away from this shoulder, which reciprocativemovement is sufiicient to open and close the jaws. This opening andclosing movement of the jaws is effected by the reciprocative movementof this tube in the following manner: The recesses in the jaws arepositioned in the toothed edge'portion, and at a sufficient distancefrom the pivotal pin portions to cause the jaws to rock or swing ontheir pivotal pins simultaneously when the tube is reciprocated. Thehandle of the jaw operating tube, however, normally rests by the weightof the jaw tube against the shoulder 19 of the body tube, and the tubeand the disk and the recesses in the jaws are arranged so that the jawsare extended out to their fullest wide open position, and then when thehandle of the jaw tube is grasped and the jaw tube is pulled up, thethree jaws move simultaneously together centrally of the tube, and theirheel portions 20 are arranged to strike against the under side of thedisk at the lower end of the body tube, which defines the upwardmovement of the jaw tube.

In order to remove any roots or weeds which may become wedged in betweenthe jaws 2, I employ a rod 21, which extends down through the tube 12,and may project slightly below its lower end. The upper engage thehandlein any suitable manner to normally hold the rod up in the positionshown in Fig. 1. As illustrated, however, the upper end of the rod isformed with a hook 22, which may be sprung over the handle 14, when therod is not used and by disengaging the hook from the handle 14, the rodmay be pushed down through the tube 12 to dislodge any roots or weedswhich may have become wedged in between the jaws.

The operation of extracting dandelions and weeds is as follows: Theextractor is held in the hands by the handle of the casing tube, and thejaws, which always stand wide open, are placed over a dandelion anddownward pressure enough is applied to the handle to press the jaws intothe ground their full length. The operator then grasps the handle of thejaw operating tube, and

pulls upon it, while at the same time pressing down on the casing tubehandle, and the short upward movement of this jaw tube closes the jawsaround the root of the dandelion. The operator then lifts the extractorup from the ground, and this movement embeds the ratchet teeth of thejaws into the rootof the dandelion and draws the dandelion with it.

When it is desired to apply a poisonous acid or chemical solution or apowder to Weeds, the extractor is placed over the plant -ed within saidcasing,

and is pressed more or less into the ground, as desired, and thematerial is poured into the top of the jaw tube, which is openthroughout its whole length, and runs onto and around the weed.

Having described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. A dandelion and weed extractor, comprising a casing, a tubereciprocally mountaws pivotally mounted at the lower end of said casingand con- .nected to the lower end of said tube and arranged to be closedand opened by reciprocal movement of saidtube, a root ejecting rodwithin said tube, and means connected with said casing and tube formanually operating the same.

2. it dandelion and weed extractor provided with a hollow handle at itsupper end and with jaws pivotally secured to its lower end to swing froma closed position to an open position, a tube reciprocally mountedwithin said casing provided with a handle at its upper end and.connected to said jaws at its lower end in such a manner that manualreciprocative movement of said tube closes and opens said jaws, saidjaws being arranged to be pressed into the ground around a dandelion orweed when in an open position relative to each other and to be closedaround and against the root of said dandelion or weed by manual movementof said tube, and a rod within said tube adapted to be-reciprocatedtherein to remove roots from said jaws after they have been removed fromthe ground.

3. In a dandelion and weed extractor, the combination of a tubularcasing having a flanged disk member at its lower end provided with aplurality of lugs arranged at equidistances apart around its peripheraledge, a plurality of ground piercing jaws provided with offset lugportions pivotally connected through said offset lug portions.

to the lugs of said casing, said jaws being arranged to swing togetherin axial 'alinement with said casing, and provided with converginglyarranged ratchetteeth on their meeting faces, each of said jaws beingprovided with a recess in its meeting face edge, said recesses beingarranged to register opposite to each other and positioned adjacent tothe pivotal centers of said jaws, a disk secured to the lower end ofsaid tubular casing and arranged to fit loosely in the recesses of saidjaws, said casing being provided with a longitudinal cutaway portion atits upper end arranged to reduce its upper terminal end to one-half. ofits diameter and to form a semicircular open end portion that isarranged to terminate in a square shouldered portion, said tubularcasing being pro vided with a handle portion at its upper circular endhaving a. semicircular recessed hub portion registering with thesemicircular re- (:ess in the cutaway portion of said casing, a handleon the upper end of said reciprocal movement tube, arranged to restnormally against the shoulder of said casing that forms the end of itscutaway portion, said tube and handle being so arranged relative to thepivotal centers of said jaws as to normally hold said jaws swung apartinto an open position at a suitable diverging angle that will enablethem to be readily pressed into the ground and to be closed togetherwhen said tube is moved upwardly, and a rod reciprocally mounted withinsaid tube, having a hook at one end arranged to hook over the handleportion of said casing, and having its opposite end extending adjacentto said jaws and adapted to eject weeds and roots clinging to said jawsafter they have been extracted from the ground.

4. The combination with an inner and outer tube slida-ble with respectto each other, toothed jaws pivotally attached to the lower end of onetube, and means carried by the other tube for spreading and contractingsaid jaws when the tubes are slid'one upon the other, of a rod extendingdown through the inner tube and beyond its lower end, having a hookedupper end in normal engagement with the upper end of the outer tube,said outer tube having a semicircular portion cutaway at its upper endforming a shoulder, and a handle on the inner tube which is adapted toabut against the said shoulder.

In testimony whereof I attix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABRAM T. AUTER.

Vitnesses G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, ADELLA M. FOWLE.

